Anniversary
by alwayssmilingsam
Summary: The progression of Helen and Nikola's relationship through a series of anniversaries.
1. Chapter 1

**Obviously no-one belongs to me but any typos and mistakes do.**

Nikola arrived the day before the anniversary. Helen doubted whether he knew the day held any kind of significance but merely appeared in order to deplete her cellar, annoy her staff and hit on her. Dammit, she really was not in the mood for him and his childish antics at the moment and it had taken all her energy just to be civil to him.

She awoke the morning of the anniversary wanting nothing more than to sink back into the oblivion of sleep for the rest of the day and wake up tomorrow when it had passed. Unfortunately that was not how she operated, she faced her tragedies head on. As she stepped out of the shower alarms started going off all over the sanctuary.

"Bloody hell." She muttered under her breath as she threw on some clothes and hurried to the main lab. As she entered the lab area she saw Henry rapidly tapping away on his tablet trying to isolate the problem and Nikola standing over him pointing out his mistakes.

"Dude! You were the one who set off the self destruct – back off and let me do my job!"

"Nikola! I should have known." She said furiously to the vampire.

"Before you start throwing around accusations, Helen I think you should remember that I have been your friend for over a century."

"Oh dear God. Every time you play the friendship card it either costs me wine, money or you have created some disaster I am going to have to clean up."

"Go with the disaster theory Doc. I don't know how he did it but somehow he has released some airborne pathogen that has set off the auto destruct. Doc we need to evacuate." Henry said urgently

"Do it." Helen commanded authoratively. "And let the others know." Henry began to leave the lab. "HAZMATS, Henry, until we know exactly what we are dealing with."

"On it Doc." Henry yelled over his shoulder.

Nikola was halfway to the other exit when Helen turned back to face him. "Not so fast Nikola." Nikola turned slowly and knew by the look on her face that Helen was royally pissed. "Care to explain why my life's work is about to blow up around me?"

"Oh Helen, always the exaggerator."

"Nikola!"

"Fine." He sighed dramatically. "I _may_ have _accidently_ mixed up a few chemicals, that in hindsight may have been a mistake."

"Every bloody time you turn up here…."

"Helen, as much as I would love to stand here and listen to you berate me, perhaps we should, oh, work out how to turn off the self-destruct?" Nikola said very calmly considering the situation.

Helen reached for a tablet and tapped furiously until the alarm stopped blaring in the background.

"If shutting down the self-destruct is that simple I would have a talk to wolf boy about updating your security." Nikola told her seriously.

Helen glared at him. "All I can do is pause it. I can't turn it off until the computer determines the threat has been eliminated." She continued glaring at him. "_You_ can go down and help with the evacuation of the residents." She commanded.

"Helen, I think my skills could be better utilised..."

"GO!"

"Right, evacuation duty it is."

::::::::

Seven hours later Helen finally sat down behind her desk and breathed a sigh of relief. The self-destruct was finally off and all the residents had returned and were secure and one annoying, Serbian vampire had just left.

"Hey Doc?" Henry asked tentatively as he entered the office.

"Henry. I want to thank you for everything you did today, it could have been a complete disaster without your quick response." Helen complimented the young man, once again glad she had surrounded herself with such a wonderful team.

"Yeah about that Doc, I was running a few diagnostics to find out what happened." Helen raised her eyebrow indicating he should continue. "Well I came across some hidden files. I mean really well hidden files behind a ton of firewalls…..Doc Tesla created them."

Helen groaned sensing that whatever this was would be bad, after all it did concern Nikola.

"Doc, he could have shut down that self-destruct any time during the day. I mean fully shut it off with the touch of a few keys."

Helen sat there absorbing what Henry said for a few moments.

"He let us spend the whole day evacuating residents and doing a full sweep for no reason. A whole day wasted when we could have…."

"Spent the day wallowing in our grief for Ashley?" Helen questioned quietly.

"Well…yeah….wait, you think he did this on purpose?"

Helen smiled enigmatically. "Thank you Henry." The young HAP took that as his cue to leave. Helen stood and walked to the window that looked out over the night skyline of Old City. "And thank you Nikola," she whispered.


	2. Year 2

**Spoilers for all seasons.**

**Just to explain my reasoning – Ashley died in the second episode of season 2. Therefore I took it that the first anniversary of her death was early season 3 and the second anniversary early season 4 after Helen had lived out her 113 years.**

Year 2

He had been coming and going for the past year, usually creating havoc but for some reason Helen didn't seem to mind so much anymore. After 113 of not being able to contact him she had come to the realisation that she felt far more for Nikola Tesla than was probably wise. So it came as no surprise when he once again turned up the day of the anniversary.

"So have you come to create havoc again to take my mind off today?" She asked with a hint of a smile.

"Saw through that one did you?"

"You are about as transparent as cling wrap Nikola."

"And yet you still don't believe my declarations of unending love for you." He declared dramatically.

"Let's just say I don't dismiss them completely anymore." Helen said quietly. She wasn't sure what he honestly felt for her but she knew he cared a great deal and who knew, maybe that was all he was capable of. More confusing though, were her feelings for him, but today was not the day to be pondering those, she doubted if she had another 113 years of seclusion whether she would be able to come up with an answer.

Nikola looked up in shock at her response, it was far more than he ever dared hope for. "I can live with that – for now."

Helen grinned at him. "So if no havoc, then why are you here?"

"I have a plan but it requires you to have complete faith in me." Nikola declared.

Helen knew it probably wasn't wise to have blind faith in anyone, but this was Nikola and he knew it was the second anniversary of Ashley's death and while he could be arrogant, insufferable and thoughtless she knew that deep down today of all days he wouldn't do anything to hurt her.

"Okay" she said simply.

It took a few seconds for her response to process. "Okay, that's it, just okay? No demands to know where we are going and what we are doing? No excuses about how much work you have on your desk? Just okay?" Nikola asked incredulous that it could be this easy.

"What can I say Nikola, I am a woman of many moods."

Nikola grinned widely. "Well then, grab a coat and let's go."

Less than half an hour they were strolling through a park by the river. Helen was enjoying the simplicity of the moment, and the fact that she was outdoors and not chasing down some abnormal. She casually tucked her arm through Nikola's and he looked down at her surprised and lightly squeezed her arm.

"I used to bring Ashley here when she was little." Helen said quietly.

Nikola looked at her, mortification written all over his face. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I didn't want today to be about bringing up any more sad memories than you already have."

Helen smiled gently at him. "These are good memories Nikola, the ones where I get to remember what she was really like not what they turned her into. She loved to come here when she was little to feed the ducks." Helen laughed at the memory. "Of course she then chased them until they wouldn't come near her, no matter how much food she offered them."

"I wish I had seen you as a mother." Nikola said seriously.

"Really?" Helen looked at him in surprise. "I always imagined you never married and had kids because the domestic life was far too mundane for someone of your intellect." She teased.

"You know as well as I do the reason I never became domesticated is because the woman I loved was ensorcelled with a psychopathic killer."

"Ensorcelled? Really?" Helen chose to ignore his declaration of love.

Nikola grinned at her and shrugged. "I would give just about anything to have seen the great Helen Magnus dealing with a hormone riddled teenage girl. And I'm sure she would have had your stubborn streak – would have made it that much more entertaining."

Helen laughed. "I will confess, Ashley's teenage years were not some of my finest mothering moments." She became sombre again. "I would give anything to have that time back."

"I know." Nikola said quietly, giving her arm another gentle squeeze. "If I could, I would make it happen for you." They walked in companionable silence for a while before Nikola spoke again. "I am fascinated by the mother side of you – tell me more."

Helen began to speak and once she started she couldn't seem to stop. She told Nikola stories of Ashley's youth and the mischief she got up to. She told him of how difficult being a single mother had been at times but mostly she spoke of the joy Ashley had bought to her life.

"Would you want to do it all again? If the right man came along that is?" Nikola fished.

Helen was lost in thought for a while. "I truly don't know. I loved being a mother, I love children and when I was young I always imagined myself with lots of children but things change, I've changed. I know I couldn't survive losing another child. I guess the answer is that my life would have to be dramatically different to what it is currently before I would even contemplate it". Helen briefly thought about the plans se had in motion and what she had built and realised that in a few months time her life would be dramatically different. The temptation to tell Nikola about her plans was almost overwhelming but she knew secrecy was of the utmost importance.

Helen hadn't realised she had been contemplating her future for so long until Nikola guided her to a secluded table in one of the riverside restaurants. Once they had placed their order she reached over and took Nikola's hand in hers. "Thank you."

Nikola looked at her quizzically. "Thank you for listening today. You really are my dearest friend."

"Is that all I am?" He asked. Helen couldn't quite place the tone but she did recognise his genuine desire to know his place in her life.

"I don't know. I know I love you as a friend, I know I can't imagine you not being in my life, I know you drive me crazy and I know I miss you when you aren't around but I don't know if I feel…more."

Nikola squeezed her hand knowing today was not the day to press her about her feelings towards him but he knew the day was coming and she was going to have to face her feelings, he'd been waiting for over a hundred years, he could wait a little bit longer.


	3. Chapter 3

**Another anniversary offering. As usual I own nothing but wish did so I could make Nikola a permanent character for the still unannounced Season 5.**

Helen sat at the window seat in her bedroom as dawn broke. Today would have been Ashley's 26th birthday and she planned to spend the day having a walk down memory lane. Before her lay several photo albums and diaries. There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't ache with the loss of her daughter but she decided today she would remember the happy times.

She had just opened the first album when Nikola entered her bedroom.

"Just what do you think you are doing?" Helen demanded. While she didn't pull her gun on him, she was not happy about this invasion of her bedroom, especially today.

Nikola approached warily, rethinking this whole idea. "I noticed you weren't at breakfast or in your office and then I remembered what day it was, so I bought you breakfast and a friendly shoulder if you want it."

Helen softened. Nikola really could be thoughtful when he wanted to be – especially with her, in fact probably only with her, which in itself was something to think about but certainly not today. Nikola produced the sorriest looking granola bar she had ever seen from his pocket and handed it to her. Helen promptly burst into laughter looking at his pitiful excuse for breakfast offerings.

Nikola looked at the granola bar and grinned. "Would you have preferred I burn down your home and everyone in it by trying to cook you something more substantial?" He questioned, knowing what her answer would probably be.

"Dear Lord No!" Helen continued to laugh. "For a genius you are surprisingly inept at food preparation – why do you think I used to take you home for meals when we were at Oxford – I was so sure you hadn't eaten since the last time I had fed you."

"You crush me Helen. Here I am thinking you invited me for my wit and intelligence."

"There may have been a small amount of that too." Helen said just quietly enough for him to hear.

Nikola smirked knowing today was not the day to follow up on that comment but he mentally filed it away for another time.

"So what's all this?" Nikola indicated all the albums and diaries.

Helen debated briefly on whether to tell him but then remembered how kind he had been on the two anniversaries of Ashley's death. "Albums and diaries from when I was pregnant and when Ashley was young."

"Oh photos of you pregnant? This I have to see." Nikola sat down beside her and randomly started flicking through albums.

Helen laughed and handed him a book. "I think this is the one you are looking for. James insisted on documenting everything."

Nikola looked over at Helen. "I'm surprised he didn't do the chivalrous thing and offer to marry you when you decided to have the baby." He said thoughtfully.

"Oh he did." Helen stated matter of factly, wishing she had a camera to capture the look of surprise on Niklola's face.

"Obviously you turned him down." Nikola said when he recovered from his shock. "Not really a smart move Helen, he was perfect husband and father material."

"I will confess I did briefly consider saying yes, but in the end it wouldn't have been fair to him, I loved him, just not in the way he deserved."

"You always did want the 'happily ever after' didn't you?" Nikola asked as he began flipping through the pages of the first album. Before Helen had a chance to respond Nikola started laughing.

"And just what do you find so amusing?" Helen asked as she moved closer to him so she could see which photo he was laughing at. Nikola adjusted his body slightly so Helen could sit closer and he was more than happy when she rested her head on his shoulder. Helen looked at the photo of her that James had taken.

"Oh Helen," Nikola chuckled, "if looks could kill there is no way James would have lived to his considerable years." He looked again at the photo of Helen sitting at her desk holding a waste paper bin obviously just having thrown up and looking decidedly pale.

Helen laughed. "I could have killed him for that photo too." She remembered the day clearly. "I was about six weeks pregnant and James had arrived the day before, along with his bloody camera, and proceeded to inform me that as the baby's honorary uncle he would be by my side supporting me throughout the pregnancy and documenting it." Helen smile became enigmatic. "That was a really special time for us, by the time I actually gave birth I very nearly said yes to one of his many proposals."

"You should have you know."

"Nikola?" Helen questioned him surprised by his statement. "All these years of telling me how much you love me and you think I should have married another man?" She was truly confused now. They had been getting closer and she had thought they had been slowly working their way towards some kind of undefined relationship but now she was wondering if she had been completely mistaken.

Nikola reached out and gently caressed her hand. "Oh I love you. I have loved you from the moment I first saw you in that ridiculous crimson dress but I also want you to be happy and I think marrying James would have made you happy."

Helen was thoughtful. "For a while maybe, but I never would have risked our friendship because one day he would have resented me for not loving him the way he deserved."

Nikola flipped the pages of the album, deciding the conversation was becoming far too serious, and then he found exactly the photo to lighten the mood. "Oh Helen, a tent with a bow, even massively pregnant I would have hoped you had more style than this." He said with mock seriousness.

Helen laughed. "I was two weeks overdue with a ten pound baby inside me – by the time James took that photo that hideous dress was the only thing that still fitted! Luckily I went into labour that night and I burnt that dress the first opportunity I had."

The next few pages showed Helen cradling her newborn daughter. "I'm afraid James went a bit overboard with the newborn photos." She gently traced her finger across one of the photos as if by doing so she could capture that moment again and feel the soft newborn skin under her finger. "In hindsight I'm glad he did." She said quietly.

They spent the next few hours going through the albums Helen had kept of Ashley's childhood. They laughed together as Helen explained the context of some of the photos and Nikola held her as she gently cried over others.

When they finished with the last album Nikola felt he had a deeper understanding of the woman he loved and he cupped her chin forcing her to look into his eyes so she could see the sincerity there as he spoke. "I want you to know that when that maternal instinct that you have buried so deeply in grief resurfaces, and I know it will because today you have shown me you were born to be a mother, I just want you to know that I will still be here."

Helen looked into his eyes and could see he was sincere. "You're planning to stay here then?"

"What can I say, I have a state of the art lab, no government goons hounding me, a reasonable lab assistant in young Heinrich, a fully stocked cellar…..and you."

Helen leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to his. Nikola was the first to pull away and looked at her questioningly.

"Yes you do have me." She told him quietly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Another anniversay offering - this one is a little different because I felt they were getting a bit too sad and serious. As usual nothing but the mistakes are mine.**

"I bought you a gift." Nikola announced walking into Helen's office.

Helen looked up from the never-ending pile of work on her desk and smiled. She had decided several weeks ago, after they had spent Ashley's birthday together, that she liked having Nikola around. She was fairly sure she was the only one living in the sanctuary that would say that, and she was fairly sure that he would eventually get itchy feet and disappear at some stage in the future but at the moment she liked having him around. Although as she thought about it, he had commandeered a bedroom for himself as well as a lab and he hadn't made any indication that he was ever planning to leave, in fact he was even attempting to get along with her staff.

"A present? For me? Why Nikola it isn't my birthday." She gushed with as much amateur dramatic flair as she could muster.

"Mock me if you will but I thought you might like this." He presented her with a small jewellery box. Helen couldn't contain the look of horror on her face as he placed it on the desk in front of her. They had certainly been getting closer over the last few years and particularly the last few months but this was a massive step. One she knew with certainty she wasn't ready for. She groaned inwardly, trying desperately to work out how she was going to say no to Nikola without hurting his feelings but at the same time letting him know that perhaps in the future she might be more ready for such an important step.

Dammit, why did he have to go and spoil everything by making such a gesture? They hadn't even slept together yet and here he was presenting her with a ring, surely he didn't think her Victorian sensibilities required a ring on her finger before she went to bed with him? How on earth was she going to do this?

Nikola watched as emotions danced across Helen's face and he could barely supress a smile knowing full well what she was thinking. "Just open the box Helen." Nikola said summoning the most heartbroken tone he could.

Helen looked at the box warily and reached out, almost as if it was going to bite her. She reluctantly opened it and peered inside. Relief washed over her when she saw it didn't contain a ring but rather a bullet.

"Nikola?" She asked not having a clue as to why he would scare her like that and why on earth he was giving her a bullet.

"It's July 22nd" He announced simply, as though the date should hold some kind of special meaning.

Helen was at a complete loss. "I'm afraid you are going to have to give me a bit more information." She said as Nikola took a seat on the corner of her desk.

"Helen I am disappointed. July 22nd 1913 was a turning point in our relationship, I can't believe you don't remember."

Helen sifted through her memories. "It wasn't our first kiss, that was August 15th 1879, and it wasn't our first adventure together that was Stanley's expedition to look for Livingstone, that was in June 1887….Nikola you are going to have to help me out."

Nikola smiled and lifted the shiny silver bullet from the box and began to turn it in those divinely long fingers. Helen had always been mesmerised by Nikola's finger s and lately she had been having a lot of less than innocent thoughts about what she would like them to do. Giving herself a mental shake she got back to the task at hand, working out why the date July 22nd 1913 was significant and why Nikola had given her a bullet as a gift. And then it came to her.

Helen laughed out loud. Nikola smiled knowing she had finally remembered. He loved the sound of her laughter, in fact he had made it his personal mission to make sure she did it more often and he was not disappointed.

"You instigated Serbia and Greece declaring war on Bulgaria and I shot you!"

"I still maintain that I had nothing to do with that unfortunate incident between the heads of state, but yes this is the bullet from the _first_ time you shot me." He emphasized.

"Oh Nikola." Helen continued laughing.

"I fail to see how commemorating the anniversary of the first time you shot me is so funny, if anything you should be choked up with remorse and begging my forgiveness." Nikola informed her with mock seriousness.

"Oh I am sorry I shot you." Helen continued to laugh. "I'm only laughing because you are the only person I know who could possibly think the anniversary of their first shooting is one worth remembering."

Nikola took Helen's hand in his and gently stroked the back of it. "Helen I think every 'first' with us is an anniversary worth celebrating."

Helen felt a tingle through her body as Nikola continued to gently caress her hand. How could she not love a man like this. She knew it was a side to him that he rarely ley anybody see, but with her he had no problems opening up and showing what a loving and caring man he could be.

"July 22nd 2012". Helen said softly.

"Today? Why does today hold significance?"

"You need to remember July 22nd 2012 because it is going to be the anniversary of the first time I said 'I love you'".


	5. Chapter 5

**Thankyou all so much for the wonderful response to this story it has truly amazed me and made me ridiculously smiley - your reviews have really inspired me to update it.**

Helen looked at the bottle sitting on her desk, debating once again if she should take it down to his lab. She had been debating back and forth for over an hour.

It was silly and frivolous and Helen Magnus was neither silly nor frivolous. She mentally shook herself – this was bloody ridiculous, it was a bottle of wine for heaven's sake. She got up and grabbed the bottle as if leaving it sitting on her desk any longer would be an offence and she stalked out of the office in search of…once again Helen was thrown into a dilemma. They weren't lovers – yet and boyfriend sounded far too juvenile for someone of her advanced years, significant other didn't really adequately describe what they meant to each other. She was still pondering as she approached the door of his lab.

Helen knocked gently and waited for him to reply.

"Helen!" Nikola's eyes literally lit up with happiness at the sight of her and he immediately stopped what he was working on and approached her to give her a light kiss on the cheek. A far cry from what he wanted to do but he had been waiting for over a century, a bit longer would make no difference.

"So, to what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked caressing her hand.

"Here." She thrust the bottle at him. He took it and looked at the label and whistled.

"Are you feeling guilty about something? Or perhaps done something you know I won't like. I have to say it makes for a nice change for the tables to be turned, normally it is me begging forgiveness." Nikola grinned maddeningly. Helen tried to withdraw her hand, liking the way Nikola was caressing it just a little too much .

"No! Nothing like that. It's just…..well it's July 5th."

"Yes it is." Nikola drawled. "While I am certainly not going to return this exquisite drop, I'm still not seeing the correlation between the wine and the date."

"Never mind. It was silly. Just forget I said anything about the date and enjoy the wine."

"Oh have no fear I fully intend to enjoy this particular bottle." Nikola pulled her over to the couch. Helen resisted for a moment, just wanting to escape back to her office and get away from this dangerous sentimentality she was feeling. "Helen?"

Helen sighed, exasperated knowing Nikola was not going to let this go. "July 5th 1948." She said quietly.

"Ahhh" Nikola said, finally understanding. "Happy death day to me". He grinned at her wickedly, remembering the day she had faked his death and the first day of their sixty year separation.

"It was another of my sad anniversaries. I thought maybe if we shared the wine over dinner tonight we could make some happier memories for this date." Helen said sounding almost vulnerable.

"I like that idea." Nikola grinned at her mischievously. "I like that idea a lot."

:::::::::::::

"Cheers." Nikola said, lifting his glass to gently touch hers. "It was a lovely meal, your hairy friend did you proud."

"Mmmm" Helen responded. Nikola wasn't sure if the lack of comment had more to do with the fact that she had something on her mind or she was so relaxed in his company that she didn't feel the need to make any more response. Knowing Helen as he did it was more likely to be the former.

"Spill it Helen." He demanded in the same tone she usually reserved for him.

"Sorry. What?" Helen said as she focused on the man sitting across from her in her private dining room.

"You clearly have something on your mind. Whilst I am always happy to be in your company, regardless of your mood, you clearly have something playing around in that delightful head of yours and I merely want to know what is it that could distract you from my charming company."

"Conceited thing." Helen laughed. "If you must know it was you that had me distracted."

"Helen, I may not be overly experienced in this whole man-woman relationship thing but even I know that if you were being distracted by me you would have looked at me occasionally, perhaps even blushed a bit." Nikola grinned cheekily at her.

Helen laughed again. "I haven't blushed in over 150 years."

"Ohhhh, a challenge. I'm sure if I put my mind to it I could make you blush." Nikola told her in an intimately hushed tone leaving her in no doubt as to how he thought he could get her to blush.

"Fine!" Helen said exasperated. Perhaps if she spoke about it she would stop thinking about it. Although she knew full well that if she did say something to him his already over inflated ego would probably grow to epic proportions. "This afternoon when I bought you the wine I was trying to define our relationship."

"That's what's got you so worked up?" Nikola laughed and then saw the look on her face. "Oh you're serious. Helen why an earth would you, of all people, feel the need to define our relationship. What we have together defies definition."

"Not helping Nikola!" Bringing this up with him had been a very bad idea and he would do just about anything to take the words back but she knew Nikola well and knew that was not an option so she continued. "Imagine we were at a party and you wanted to introduce me to someone, how would you do it?"

"Helen this is ridiculous."

"How would you do it?" She demanded gently.

"I would say 'I would like you to meet the late Helen Magnus, she blew up her home a few months back , perhaps you saw it on the news? Well here she is alive and well'."

Helen grunted in frustration and got up from the table and began pacing.

Nikola looked at her and realised she was quite seriously confused about their relationship. He got up from the table and grasped her hand to stop her from pacing, gently her turned her to face him and made her look into his eyes. "I would like you to meet Helen Magnus, the love of my life".

Helen's breath hitched. Nikola, in that one sentence had managed to sum up their relationship. It didn't need any other definition than that, he was the love of her life – it had taken her a while to realise it and even longer to acknowledge it but without a doubt that is what he was.

Helen gave him one of her most radiant smiles. "Happy death day Nikola, let's go to bed and celebrate being alive."


	6. Chapter 6

**Well what do you know your reviews have got my muse dancing around happily. When I write there are some pieces I just naturally like more than others (good thing that doesn't happen with kids), well this is one of those ones I just like - all Teslen fluffy goodness - you've been warned.**

Helen snuggled further into Nikolas embrace. They had barely made it to their hotel room before they were tearing at each other's clothes. Helen wondered idly if their frantic couplings would ever give way to a slower more languorous lovemaking, not that she minded either way because, quite frankly, making love with Nikola was more fantastic than she had ever believed possible. It had only been two weeks since she had decided to take their relationship to the next level and, looking back on how wonderful the last two weeks had been, she cursed herself for not being brave enough to do it long ago.

"A penny for them?" Nikola asked drowsily, loving the feel of waking up with Helen in his arms.

"You have just flown me to Rome first class, and we are staying in the presidential suite at the St Regis, you clearly have more money than God so it is going to cost you far more than a penny for my thoughts."

"Cheeky wench". Nikola tickled her until she managed to get the upper hand and sat astride him.

"Well, if this how we end up when I tickle you I shall have to make sure I do it far more often." Nikola grinned.

"Shut up Nikola." Helen said as she leaned down and kissed him.

It was an hour later when they were snuggled, spooning, under the comforter when Helen realised where they were and how they got there. She turned her head slightly so she could see his face. "It occurs to me that for two people who are supposed to be dead we managed to get through customs and on an international flight with a great deal of ease."

"This is only just occurring to you, my Helen you are getting slow in your old age. I was expecting you to demand explanations the minute we arrived at the airport."

"What can I say, I was swept up in the whimsical romance of you whisking me away for a few days and once we were on the plane I was spending all my time trying to fend off your efforts to get us to join the mile high club."

"Yes but it was rather fun when I finally convinced you wasn't it?"

"I will admit that at my age it is hard to find new experiences and yes it was most definitely enjoyable. But I still want to know how you managed it."

"It was quite simple really, once we laid back our seats and drew the privacy curtain..."

"Nikola! Focus!"

"Oh you want to know how I managed to get two dead people on a plane?"

"I would probably phrase it more delicately, but yes."

"Genius, remember?"

"Nikola." She drawled. Normally this type of conversation with him frustrated her to the point of wanting to shoot him, but today she was finding it rather amusing, perhaps this is what being relaxed felt like.

"Well young Henri and I decided that being dead to the rest of the world was going to become rather limiting, so we set about making some alternate identities".

"And just who exactly am I now?" She asked with amusement.

"You my dear are Mrs Helene Baumschlauger, married to Dr Reinholdt Baumschlauger." Nikola told her proudly.

"Really? Because the way I remember it I finished my doctorate at Oxford and someone else, oh that's right, you," she poked him in the ribs, "left to go and work out how to resurrect your vampire race."

"That is your only objection? That I didn't make you a doctor, because that is easily remedied. I thought you would want to shoot me for making you my wife."

Helen grinned at him. "Oh, have no fear, I have every intention of becoming your wife eventually."

"Helen?"

"Well tomorrow it is the anniversary of you coming back into my life after 60 years absence, seems only appropriate that we make that a permanent arrangement." Helen smiled knowing she had taken him by surprise.

"Wait are you telling me you want to get married?"

"Well tomorrow is the anniversary of the first time you told me you loved me."

"Yes, and by you reaction at the time, it was the last thing you wanted to hear. To be honest I didn't even know if you would remember the significance of the date."

"Nikola I always remember when I shoot you, they are very important days to me." She laughed at his outraged expression. "Relax." She rolled over to face him and cupped his cheek gently. "The desire to shoot you is a good thing."

"Whilst I may be immortal, you do know it still hurts like hell when you pump a few rounds into me."

"Yes but think about it, you only hurt the ones you love." Helen laughed at his expression.

"Oh Helen a cliché? I expected more from you."

Helen sighed. "I do remember every time I have shot you because a little part of me has died every time I have had to do it. But I think this anniversary is important because that was the last time I did it and I have a feeling that I am never going to feel compelled to do it again and that, my love, is definitely something worth celebrating."

Nikola began to stroke those incredible fingers of his up and down her naked thigh leaving her in no doubt as to how he planned to celebrate. "So were you serious about getting married?" Helen heard a hitch of vulnerability in his voice.

"Well we obviously can't do it legally, but I Helen Magnus take you Nikola Tesla to be my husband, to love you in good times and bad and I promise to make you happy for all eternity."

Nikola had the most ridiculous grin on his face, this was the most perfect way for them to get married. "And I, Nikola Tesla, take you Helen Magnus to be my wife, I promise to love you forever and make you laugh and smile daily, I promise to not intentionally give you any reason to shoot me, I promise not to make any effort to resurrect the vampire race unless it is to knock you up and I promise to spend the rest of my life making love to you trying to knock you up."

Helen laughed. "Well Tesla, I think perhaps you should follow through on some of those promises right now."

"Anything you say Mrs Tesla." Nikola said as he rolled them so she was pinned underneath him.

"Do. Not. Call. Me. That!"

"I knew it was a longshot, Mrs Baumschlaugher it is then." Helen laughed and spent the next while not really caring what her name was.


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay this is fluffy - no getting around it. So if fluffy Teslen is not your thing I would turn back now. For al my girls (you know who you are) thankyou for making me smile every day.**

Nikola walked into Helen's office, a glass of wine in one hand and the remainder of the bottle in the other.

"Nikola, really, wine at this time of the morning?" Helen reprimanded.

"You know as well as I do that wine is about the only thing I can actually taste. Besides, I'm celebrating."

Helen sighed. "Celebrating what?" She asked as he walked into the office and perched on the edge of her desk.

"It is exactly one year today since I first laid eyes on this abnormal utopia you built. One year since I moved in and could say I actually had a home for the first time in far too long. Worth celebrating I would say."

Helen smiled. "You always could have had a home with me."

"Yes, well sleeping down the hall from you was not exactly what I wanted." He reached out and lightly stroked her cheek.

Helen smiled. "And do you have what you want now?" Helen asked with a teasing tone.

Nikola grinned, thinking about how he spent the predawn hours just that morning watching her sleep. "Oh, most definitely." He leant forward to place a gentle kiss on her lips. "And what about you? Do you…." Nikola didn't get to finish the sentence before Helen turned a sickly green colour.

"Dear Lord. The wine!" She lunged for the waste paper basket next to her desk and promptly lost what little breakfast she had managed to eat.

Nikola looked on in a mixture of horror and disgust, but managed to overcome both feelings long enough to hold Helen's hair back as she spent the next few minutes retching.

Helen sat back in her chair and composed herself. "Well I know I have elicited many emotions from you over the years but I am fairly certain that is the first I have ever _actually_ made you throw up."

"Obviously I have some kind of stomach bug." She responded witheringly. "Now if you kindly leave I would like to clean myself up."

"With pleasure." Nikola rose to leave and was almost to the door. Something about seeing Helen throwing up in her waste paper bin was nagging at him, like a memory but he knew it couldn't be because in the entire time he had known her he had never seen her physically ill.

"Are you sure you are alright?" He asked with genuine concern.

Helen heard the concern in his voice and smiled weakly at him. "I will be – as soon as I can clean my teeth."

"Good. Oaky then." He said distractedly as he left.

:::::::

For three hours the sight of Helen throwing up played on his mind until eventually he remembered the photo James had taken. He looked up from what he was working on and realised exactly what was happening.

Less than a minute later he burst into her office. "You're pregnant!" He hadn't meant for it to sound like an accusation but that was the way it came out.

"I am not!" Helen retorted, not entirely sure how Nikola had come up with such a preposterous idea.

"Are too." He grinned at her. Suddenly very excited at the prospect of a miniature version of Helen and himself.

"Nikola, I am 262 years old. I assure you I am not pregnant."

Nikola was not being dissuaded. "Humour me. Run a blood test."

"I really don't have time for this nonsense. Just because I threw up does not mean I am pregnant." Helen was becoming more exasperated as the conversation continued.

"Fine. If you are so sure then it won't hurt to run a blood test." He said patiently, unable to keep the smile from his face.

"You want me to be, don't you?" Realisation was dawning that Nikola seemed almost excited by the prospect of a pregnancy.

"Kinda. Maybe." He said mumbling.

"Nikola?"

"Yes! Fine. I like the thought of having a child with you – and believe me those are not words I thought I would ever hear coming from my mouth – the whole idea of being a parent – well, I find it fascinating."

"So you would like me to be pregnant from a purely scientific standpoint, because you find the concept fascinating?"

"Yes. No. I mean yes it is fascinating. " He moved closer to her and took her hand in his. "But can you imagine a child of ours? Imagine how brilliant it would be, mix that with your looks and my sense of style? Our child could do anything, be anything, don't you think it would be amazing?"

Helen softened at his words. "Nikola, it's a lovely sentiment, but the source blood…my age, I doubt it is even possible. I'm sorry." She said with genuine remorse. They had certainly discussed children in a general sense but Helen didn't realise it was something Nikola had actually seriously considered.

The closer Nikola looked at her though the more certain he became. She looked more tired than usual but there was a kind of inner glow to her at the same time. "Please Helen. For me, just do a blood test?"

"You will keep annoying me until I do won't you?"

"You know me so well." He grinned at her happy to have gotten his own way.

Helen stood and took his hand. "Alright then let's get it over and done with."

:::::::

Half an hour later Helen and Nikola were sitting in front of the computer in her lab, one wore a look of complete bewilderment and the other wore a smug self-satisfied grin.

They sat there for nearly five minutes just staring at the results.

"But how?"

"The usual way I imagine."

"But in theory…"

"Exactly how many theories have you disproved in your life?"

Helen looked at him in bewilderment and wonder. "A baby?"

"Apparently so."

"A baby."

"Usually what a pregnancy leads to." Nikola suddenly had doubts about her reaction. "You are okay with this aren't you?"

Helen looked at the concern on his face. "I am still in shock. But once that passes I'm pretty sure I will move to happy."

"Good then. Happy is good." Nikola could not wipe the smile from his face.

"You really are excited aren't you?" Nikola never stopped surprising her.

"Of course I am – I've always told you the maternal side of you fascinates me." Nikola gently rested his hand on her stomach. "And to know that I did this – well I won't lie, it is kind of good for the ego."

"Oh dear lord, the last thing your ego needs is a boost." She rested her hand on top of his. "It is rather amazing though." She rested her head on his shoulder and began thinking of a little boy with wild hair and a sense of adventure, she grinned widely thinking of the mischief he and his father would get into – she could hardly wait.


End file.
